Summary
RULE OF LAW exists when the laws of a sovereign nation, established using authorized procedures, are upheld by a nation’s systems, institutions, practices, and people. Rule of law helps maintain an orderly, stable society.
We, the people, authorize elected officials to make laws on our behalf and in our best interest. Because we grant our representatives the power to make law, we are naturally obliged to uphold and obey the laws they make. When we believe a law is unwise or unjust, we should continue to obey it (in most cases) while working to change it.
In order to have just laws, or the rule of law instead of the rule of men, our legal system must abide by the following guidelines:
-Laws are publicized and commonly known; they are clear and coherent with respect to each other
-Laws apply only to present and future actions and are possible to comply with
-Laws are sufficiently stable so people remain aware of them and can follow them
-Those who make, enforce, and administer laws are accountable for their own compliance with laws
-Laws are applied consistently and equally to all people (see Equal Justice)
-Responsibility for administering the law is divided among various people (e.g., judge, prosecutor, defender) (see “On Ordered Liberty,” Samuel Gregg, p. 63)
Quotes from the Brethren
Joseph Smith–
We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” (Article of Faith 12, Joseph Smith)
L. Tom Perry–
We are expected to be subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, and obey, honor, and sustain the law (see A of F 1:12). To obey, honor, and sustain, we must know the law and live it. We must be good citizens in our church, schools, and communities. We must also be prepared to make our contribution by giving service to others. (L. Tom Perry, “Youth of the Noble Birthright,” Ensign, Nov. 1998)
Dallin H. Oaks–
…there is divine inspiration in the fundamental underlying premise of this whole constitutional order. All the blessings enjoyed under the United States Constitution are dependent upon the rule of law. That is why President J. Reuben Clark said, “Our allegiance run[s] to the Constitution and to the principles which it embodies, and not to individuals.” The rule of law is the basis of liberty.
As the Lord declared in modern revelation, constitutional laws are justifiable before him, “and the law also maketh you free.” (D&C 98:5–8.) The self-control by which citizens subject themselves to law strengthens the freedom of all citizens and honors the divinely inspired Constitution. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Divinely Inspired Constitution,” Ensign, Feb. 1992)
Marion G. Romney–
When the “rule of law” breaks down in a family, a community, a state, or a nation, chaos reigns.
The kingdoms of heaven are to be free from chaos, because no one will be in any one of them who does not by his own free will obey the laws thereof.
A Latter-day Saint should strictly obey every law of God, including the constitutional laws of the land in which he lives, and do it with a good and honest heart. (Marion G. Romney, “The Rule of Law,” Ensign, Feb. 1973)
N. Eldon Tanner–
There are many who question the constitutionality of certain acts passed by their respective governments, even though such laws have been established by the highest courts in the land as being constitutional, and they feel to defy and disobey the law.
Abraham Lincoln once observed: “Bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible; still, while they continue in force, they should be religiously observed.”
This is the attitude of the Church in regard to law observance. We agree with the author of the following statement:
“In reality the man who defies or flouts the law is like the proverbial fool who saws away the plank on which he sits, and a disrespect or disregard for law is always the first sign of a disintegrating society. Respect for law is the most fundamental of all social virtues, for the alternative to the rule of law is that of violence and anarchy.” (Case and Comment, March/April issue, 1965, p. 20.) (N. Eldon Tanner, “The Laws of God,” Ensign, Nov. 1975)
Quotes from the Founders
Candidus–
[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them. (Candidus in the Boston Gazette, January 20, 1772)
Thomas Paine: But where says some is the King of America? I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain…let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING. (Paine, Thomas Common Sense, 1776)
Benjamin Rush–
[W]here there is no law, there is no liberty; and nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community. (Rush, Benjamin letter to David Ramsay, Circa April, 1788)
Alexander Hamilton–
The instrument by which it [government] must act are either the AUTHORITY of the laws or FORCE. If the first be destroyed, the last must be substituted; and where this becomes the ordinary instrument of government there is an end to liberty! (Hamilton, Alexander Tully, No. 3, August 28, 1794)
Speeches and Other Resources
- Dallin H. Oaks, “The Divinely Inspired Constitution,” Ensign, Feb. 1992
- N. Eldon Tanner, “The Laws of God,” Ensign, Nov. 1975
- Dallin H. Oaks, “Devotion to the Rule of Law,” Ensign, Apr. 1974
- Marion G. Romney, “The Rule of Law,” Ensign, Feb. 1973
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